McCain’s career started out when he embarked on a tour with Hootie and the Blowfish. This fortunately led to him attracting the attention of Atlantic Records, whom he signed with in 1994. He entered the studio the same year to record his debut major label release, “Honor Among Thieves” on the same division, “Lava Records” as Matchbox Twenty, Kid Rock and Jewel. He released his second album, “Misguided Roses” On June 24th 1997. The album went to number 73 on the Billboard 200 chart, and spawned the hit single “I’ll Be” which made it to number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has since been featured in the TV show “Higher Ground” and the motion picture, A Cinderella Story.
On June 15th 1999, Edwin McCain released the album “Messenger” which made it to number 59 in the Billboard 200. It featured the hit single written by Dianne Warren, “I Could Not Ask for More” which reached number 37 in the Billboard Hot 100. Still on the Atlantic Record Label, McCain released the album “Far From Over” which unfortunately didn’t make it into the top 100, but it did however, feature the single “Hearts Fall” which made it to number 27 on the Adult Contemporary charts.
Unfortunately, between the release of “Lost in America” in 2006 and “Mercy Bound”, McCain didn’t have any commercial success, but he still tours nationally, including performing on board USS John C. Stennis, whilst it was on a Western Pacific deployment in Guam.
So, I actually got to meet Edwin McCain at a charity golf tournament last year, but I’d never had a chance to see him in concert until now so when one of my friends got tickets, I jumped at the chance.
We saw him at the Tillman Auditorium in Clemson, and it was the PERFECT place to see him. The acoustics were amazing, and the concert felt way more intimate than I would have ever expected. I was surprised that his voice is even better in person than on a CD or on the radio-the man can flat out sing! I’m so used to studio alteration and autotune that it was so nice to hear just a great, smooth voice that didn’t need anything to be perfect.
He was really entertaining throughout the show, making jokes and talking to people in the audience-it made the show feel more personal and really enhanced the experience for me. One of the coolest things was that he would tell little stories about his life and give details about the meanings behind his songs.
It really made me feel like it was more than a concert-it was almost like getting to know an old friend. My favorite song was an a capella version of “I’ll Be” that was so beautiful it literally brought tears to my eyes. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever gone to, and I’ll definitely see him again if I have the chance!